FREE Vintage Bluebird Embroideries for You!

I digitized the vintage bluebird transfer for you. You can download it under "Files" in my Mommy's Apron Strings Pattern Group!
There are 3 versions: the single bluebird for the 4x4 hoop, above.

The double bluebirds for the 5x7 hoop, and...

the bluebirds with the word "Baby" added.

Here's an actual stitch-out. I love how this looks. It would be nice for pillowcases, kitchen towels, bibs, baby blankets, quilts, etc. If you stitch it, please send me pictures. I'd love to share them!!

Time to VOTE!

We are expecting a big blizzard in New England tomorrow. At 1:30 today, school was cancelled for tomorrow- yahoo! I am planning to stay home and sew and play with my kids. I would like to start digitizing a new freebie for you. It will be vintage colorwork. Here are your choices:

Girl Bunny, perfect for Easter!

Mama Chicken with 2 Chicks (1 not shown)- just like my "girls".

2 different Bluebirds with Flowers- 1 shown, the other is similar

 

Teapot and Sugar/Creamer Set- each would be separate.

Go to the 

Mommy's Apron Strings Patterns Group

to VOTE!

A Fabric Coincidence You Won't Believe!!

Today Rosie went bowling with some friends and I was their taxi driver. While they were there, I hopped on over to one of my favorite thrift shops, which is only open Weds and Friday. I almost fell over when I saw this fabric sitting on a shelf.

Not that remarkable, you are thinking. It's not Liberty of London or woven with gold threads, right? But check out this Raggedy Ann my Mom made me when I was a baby in the 1970s!! You can read more about her history in this post.
Look at her dress! It is the EXACT same fabric. I really just can't believe I found this and it's in brand new condition!

 Not to mention, there is 14 yards of this and I paid $8! Yes, that is not a typo! I think I will have to make a Raggedy Ann dress for my future grand-daughters from this. And I think I'll have enough lef to make some other projects too, don't you agree?

In puppy news, Carter had a cough/cold, but we got some medicine from the vet and he is so much better today. This was last night after a quick bath. He is eating like a horse and playing and running around again with hardly any cough!
What was your best fabric FIND? Mine was a piece of 3 yards of Liberty Tana Lawn for $3 until this!!

Meet our New Little Boy: Carter!!

We got our first puppy this week! Neither hubby nor I have ever had an indoor pet, but we have enjoyed our chickens so much and the kids really wanted a dog. We fell in love with this little guy. He is a Yorkie-Poo. Eleven weeks old. 2.6 lbs of love!

Can you resist that sweet face?

He loves to cuddle and to play. Unfortunately, he started a cold yesterday, so today we are off to the vet. I hope they can give him some doggy medicine! We are all looking forward to playing with him, walking him when it gets warmer, and having a loyal companion!

Here he is by Andy (age 4) just to show you how tiny this little guy is!! If I need puppy advice, I'll post to ask you all!

Spice Meadows Quilt by my Mom

A few years ago, I bought a quilt of the month kit for my Mom. It is called "Spice Meadows" and was available at JoAnn's.
My Mom has worked on it every so often and a year or so ago, she asked me to do the center applique for her. I did it by machine and you can see the result above. I used a machine blanket stitch to make it look prettier.

And here is the whole quilt! Isn't it lovely? The center medallion is surrounded by pieced blocks. I love the jewel colors! My Mom completed the top and will work on the hand quilting next. She likes to have a project to do on weekends.
She inspired me to pull out my bin of unfinished quilts and I have a lot of them! I will share them with you soon!

Christmas Leftovers: Stocking Cuffs

I never had a chance to post my stockings before Christmas. You caught a glimpse of them hanging on the mantel in this post. Today I'll show you the embroideries close-up.

Andy has playful elves. He says he is on top. Andy is lots of fun and really cute, so elves are a good match for him!

Davy is a gingerbread boy. Sweet and darling, quiet and kind. That's our Davy- not to mention he is chief cookie-taster in our house.

Rosie has been dancing since she was 2. This will be her 12th recital year! She does all types of dance and can always be found pirouetting around the house. This beautiful ballerina with a touch of holly matches her energetic, fun personality.

Katie loved "worsies" since she was a  small girl. My Mom has given her the Breyer Carousel Horse ornament each year, so this is a perfect match for her. This embroidery was the toughest to stitch, as I had to shrink it down and it became very thick. Katie is elegant with a touch of whimsy, so this was a great match for her.

Pete has always liked dragons. I was going to do something with computers for him, but he saw this one and liked it better. Pete enjoys fantasy and sci-fi, so this design is terrific. This one stitched especially well. I used metallic gold for the sleigh and the dragon's harness and it looks spectacular in person. By the way, this is a Wizard Santa and Pete and I are big fans of Harry Potter, too!

Choosing a design for myself was the hardest of all! I chose this vintage skating couple because I love the Victorian times and clothing. I found a truly perfect design for me, but it was too big and I was afraid to reduce it. I am going to share it with you, anyway!
Do you see that this is the shop of a stocking maker!? And there are 7 stockings hanging on the roof!! Perfection. Maybe I'll figure out a way to do this one for next year...

Hubby is my loveable dork geek. His job is an engineer, so he is on computers all day and uses them at night, too. He loves his gadgets. It was easy to chose a circuit board Christmas tree for him.

All of these designs are from Embroidery Library or Urban Threads. I was trying to keep some continuity. I managed to get them all pinned to the stockings in time for Christmas. By next year, they should be sewing into actual cuffs! I was thinking of using green ball fringe along the bottom of each cuff.
Coming up, I have 2 beautiful quilts in progress by my Mom and Katie, and one amazing quilt that I got for Christmas!